Plurality, Doubt, and the Church: A Theological Response to Charles Taylor’s “Nova Effect,” with Special Reference to Tomáš Halík

Abstract

The dissertation offers a theological response to the concept of the “nova effect” in Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age, with special reference to Czech theologian and priest Tomáš Halík. According to Taylor, as I outline and corroborate in chapter 1, exploding plurality in Western societies (nova) “fragilizes” belief (effect). An adequate theological response will require, therefore, engagement with both plurality and doubt. Following this line of thinking, I combine Taylor and Halík in chapter 2 to argue for a theologised “pluralistic robust realism” as both a necessary and plausible response to the “nova.” Then, after clarifying the relationship between fragilization and doubt in A Secular Age through philosophical, historical, and ethnographic sources, I argue in chapter 3 for the integration of doubt into the life of faith as a response to the “effect,” with specific attention to Halík and Christian scripture. Even with these theological responses in hand, the social context of the nova effect continues to present the church the challenge of reaching “seekers” without losing “dwellers.” Halík’s theology of spiritual seeking is a compelling initial response, but its relative neglect of dwellers limits its potency. This dissertation concludes that a stronger emphasis on the Holy Spirit—a pneumatological ecclesiology—better resources the church for engaging both seekers and dwellers amidst the nova effect.